Louisville 27, Kentucky 13
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater shook off a slow first half, throwing for 250 yards and leading the No. 7 Cardinals to a 27-13 win over Kentucky on Saturday.
The Cardinals (3-0) didn't gash their rival's defense as many expected they would, but coach Charlie Strong's defense carried the weight. Kentucky (1-2) had three turnovers, including a second-half interception at the Louisville 2-yard line and a first-half fumble inside Kentucky's 30-yard line.
Running back Senorise Perry scored two touchdowns for the Cardinals, both in the second half. His first was a 1-yard punch-in two plays after he broke off a 27-yard run to set up the goal-line situation; his second was a 36-yard rush to give the Cardinals a 27-6 lead with 11:29 to play.
The Wildcats' two-quarterback system did not work as well Saturday as it did last week in a 42-7 win over Miami (Ohio), when coach Mark Stoops freely exchanged Maxwell Smith and Jalen Whitlow under center for much of the game, even in the middle of drives.
Whitlow played just two snaps in the first half, the first of which was a fumble that Louisville recovered. The other was a handoff to Ryan Timmons that went for a loss of four yards.
Louisville's offense, which had no trouble moving the ball in its first two games, struggled early against the Wildcats. On their first three drives, the Cardinals had 10 yards and no first downs.
Still, Louisville led 3-0 after a fumble recovery at the Kentucky 27-yard line set up a 36-yard field goal by John Wallace.
Kentucky tied the game on its last possession of the first quarter, a six-play drive that resulted in Joe Mansour's 37-yard field goal. Mansour, a junior, is 6-of-6 on field-goal attempts this season.
Running back Dominique Brown carried the Cardinals to their first score. He picked up six yards on a third-and-1 play with about eight minutes left in the first half, and the Cardinals went back to Brown on the next four plays, with his 22 yards putting them in the red zone for the first time.
Bridgewater then hit wide receiver DeVante Parker for a leaping 13-yard touchdown catch in double coverage for the first touchdown of the day for either team.
The Wildcats got in the end zone for the first time late in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass from Whitlow to Alex Montgomery to close the score to its final 14-point gap.
NOTES: The Cardinals have won the Governor's Cup, the trophy given to the Louisville-Kentucky winner, three years in a row. Kentucky leads the all-time series 14-12 and had won four straight before Louisville started its streak. ... Perry's performance was the first game with multiple rushing touchdowns for a Louisville player since Perry ran for four scores on Oct. 13, 2012, against Pittsburgh. ... With his touchdown reception, Parker became the third player in Cardinals history to have 20 career touchdown receptions. Ibn Green is the school's record holder, with 33 touchdowns from 1996 to 1999.
